The End of the Beginning
by Daughter of Bast1
Summary: Alternant ending to #54. What if everythinge wasn't what it seemed? "I'll go to The Sharing with you, Cassie."
1. Part 1

Before I start with the author's notes, disclaimers, etc. I want to say I changed my pen name and this has caused a few problems. My original pen name was "Bast's Shadow" but when I tried to look it up in the author's search, I couldn't find it. When I went into my account, I noted the small print that said something like "if you use characters other than the alphabet, the pen name won't show up in the author index." The moral of the story kiddies is "read the fine print!"   
  
I tried to change my pen, but managed to get my account stuck so I can't get into it. *Grrr* At any rate, I set up a new account and re-posted the first part of my story. Sorry for any trouble this caused. The next chapter will becoming soon.  
  
AN: This is an alternate ending to "The Beginning." I don't own the Animorphs. They belong to K.A. Applegate and Scholastic, Inc. This fic is for entertainment purposes only.  
  
  
  
The End of the Beginning  
  
"Did I make a difference? My life ... and my ... my death ... was I worth it? Did my life really matter?!" I demanded of the Ellimist. I stared up at him waiting for an answer while my life quickly trickled away.  
  
"Yes," he said gently. "You were brave. You were strong. You were good. You mattered."  
  
"Well, at least that's something," I replied. I was ready now. At least my death would give Jake and the others a chance. I took one last ragged breath, and then everything stopped.  
  
  
I could sense something at the edge of my mind. I couldn't tell what it was, but the more I tried to focus, the more distinct it became. First sounds, then words, then finally understanding.  
  
I opened my eyes to find my parents standing over my bed. "Rachel? Honey, can you hear me?" my father asked.  
  
"I'm not dead?"  
  
  
It's hard to believe that it's been six months. Six months since the car accident that put me in the hospital. My mom told me that I was in a comma for three weeks. I had hooked up with Melissa at the mall and caught a ride home with her instead of walking home with Casssie, Jake, and the others. A pickup truck ran a stop sign and hit the passenger side of the car where I was sitting. Melissa wound up with a concussion and a broken leg. Mr. Chapman managed to escape with a broken arm and a few cuts.  
  
I still have a hard time believing that the Yeerk invasion was all just a nightmare. It seemed so real. I've never had a dream or nightmare that intense. How do you dream that you die? How do you dream that for two years, you and a handful of others fought against staggering odds to try to keep the Earth from being destroyed?  
  
What scares me the most is my dream self. Was I really that much of an adrenaline junkie? Did I really take all those risks because it was the only time I felt truly alive?  
  
I once heard somewhere that we all have some darkness in us. We are both light and dark; good and evil; god and demon. Which was I, brave or insane? I don't want to know. I don't like the idea that I'm capable of the things I did in my dream.  
  
I shrugged off the bad memories.   
  
I sat next to Cassie at the lunch table the next day. "Hey, Cassie. Do you still want help picking out an outfit for the dance Friday night? I know you want to impress Jake." I said as I grinned at her.  
  
"I can't make it to the dance" she answered.  
  
"Why not? I know you've been looking forward to it for weeks! It took Jake that long just to get up the nerve to ask you out." I demanded.   
  
"My mom wants me to go with her and dad to a meeting over at the Rec. Center. My mom and dad want to spend more 'quality family time' together and they think this will help."  
  
"How can some boring meeting compare to a date with my cousin? Doesn't she know how important this dance is? Jake may never get up the nerve to ask you out again!" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. At this rate, Cassie and Jake would finally start dating when the rest of us were fifty.  
  
"I know, I know already. But mom said this is more important than a school dance and that Jake and his family would be there too."  
  
"What kind of meeting is this any way? Jake didn't say anything about it last night when I talked to him on the phone."  
  
"It's a new club. You know, like the YMCA, only for everybody," Cassie answered. "I think it's called 'The Sharing' or something. Rachel, are you all right? Rachel?"  
  
  
  
AN: So what do you think? This is my very first fic, so please be gentle with your reviews. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Flames will hurt my fragile little ego and break it into a thousand little pieces and leave me a broken shell of a person. You don't want to be responsible for that, do you?  
  
Seriously, I wrote this because I didn't like the ending of the Animorphs series. Now before some of you jump all over me, I just want to say, I'm a HUGE Animorphs fan. A friend got me hooked on the series two years ago. I went to the bookstore and bought "The Invasion" and liked it so much, that I bought the rest of books available at the time (I think the series was up to #22). I'm just not crazy with the way the series ended. So if you don't agree, that's OK.  



	2. Part 2

  
AN: First of all, I would like to thank everyone who sent me reviews encouraging me to write more. Frankly, this was suppose to be a one shot deal. I've never written a fictional story before (unless you count the one I did in third grade) and personally, I didn't expect the responses I got. My head swelled so much I can hardly get through the door. *snicker*   
  
I don't write well when I try to make myself. I seem do best when my muse is with me. So please be patient if the next installment is slow in coming. I'll try to get it out as soon as possible.  
  
(PS I realize I spelled "a coma" wrong in the last chapter. Instead of Rachel being unconscious, I made her a punctuation mark! Sorry!)  
  
Thanks!  
  
AN2: I don't own the Animorphs. K. A. Applegate and Scholastic, Inc. do. This fanfic is for entertainment purposes only.   
  
  
  
  
End of the Beginning: Part II  
  
  
  
"Rachel? Are you coming down to dinner?"  
  
I was startled out of my thoughts by my mom calling my name. "No thanks, mom. I ate something at Cassie's."   
  
"OK, sweetheart, but don't forget to finish up your homework before you go to bed."  
  
"All right, mom." I rolled my eyes as I answered her. My mom has a tendency to forget that I'm 16, not 6, anymore.  
  
I sat on my bed and stared out of the window. I thought back to the last couple of hours and cringed.   
  
When Cassie had told me about going to the Sharing, I totally freaked. It's like those words punched a major panic button I didn't even know I had.  
  
I remembered the look on Cassie's face when she asked me if I was all right. I must of told her something, because the only thing I remember after Cassie saying THOSE WORDS is pulling into my driveway in my old VW Bug. I came straight up to my room and haven't come out since.  
  
That was over three hours ago. I've tried to convince myself that this Sharing has nothing to do with the one from my memories, but so far, logic isn't winning.  
  
I keep telling myself, that the memories I have of the Sharing, the Yeerks, the invasion, EVERYTHING, is just some weird nightmare I had while I was in a coma. That somehow the whole "we have to save the world, we're just a bunch of kids, how are we possibly going to stop the Yeerks" is just some bizarre jumble of images and impressions that my mind made up while I was unconscious.  
  
There are no such things as rat-sized, parasitic slug-like aliens trying to take over the world. I said this out loud to show myself just how crazy it sounded. Unfortunately, part of me refused to be convinced by this.   
  
I grew frustrated with myself. "Enough of this nonsense Rachel Lynn! You are 16 years old, not a child who believes in the bogeyman!" I told myself sternly.   
  
I had no desire to do my homework. I could do it in study hall tomorrow. I turned on the television to try to get my mind off of my foolish fears. I flipped the channels around. Maybe there was something on AMC.   
  
I have a secret passion for old movies. Sounds kind of corny, but ever since I was little, my parents would rent old movies like "Casablanca" or "The Maltese Falcon" and we would spend Friday nights watching them. It was our family time together.   
  
We don't do it very much since my parents got divorced. I think it's because it hurts my mother to remember all the fun she and dad had watching those old movies together. It hurts me too, but it also makes me feel closer to my mom and dad. It brings back good memories, ones I want to remember.  
  
I settled down on my bed just as the movie started. Less than a minute later, I almost fell off my bed when I realized what the movie was. AMC was having a sci-fi marathon and "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" was the movie currently running. I quickly turned off the television. I wanted to forget my stupid dreams, not dwell on them.  
  
I took a deep breath and tried to put all of my fears into focus. "It's just a nightmare Rachel. The Yeerks don't exist. The Sharing is just a club for people to get together. It's not a front for an alien invasion. Just keep repeating to yourself, 'There are NO aliens. It was all just a dream.'"  
  
Why can't I make myself completely believe this? I mean, I know there is a possibility that on some planets, somewhere in the universe, intelligent life exists. Even the scientists agree on this fact. But as most of them point out, the distance between those worlds is so far apart, the chance of contacting another planet with intelligent life, let alone visiting it in person, is almost non-existent.   
  
I knew there was only one way to solve the doubt in my mind for once and for all. The clock on my desk said it was 9:20 p.m. It was kind of late to call Cassie. Her parents went by the motto "early to bed, early to rise" and they didn't like to get calls after 9 o'clock at night.   
  
I debated for another minute whether or not I should call Cassie tonight or wait until I saw her in class tomorrow. I picked up the phone before I could change my mind and dialed her number. I knew I wouldn't get any sleep until I got this out of the way.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hi. This is Rachel. I know it's kinda late, but could I talk to Cassie for just a minute?" I asked hesitantly.  
  
"Well Rachel, we normally don't like for Cassie to get calls this late, but let me go see if she's in bed yet," her dad replied.  
  
"Thank you." I answered.  
  
I suddenly heard another extension being picked up. "Hello?" Cassie's voice asked.  
  
"Hi, Cassie. Sorry to bother you so late but I wanted to tell you this, and it couldn't keep until tomorrow. I'll go to the Sharing meeting with you."  
  
  
  
  
  
End Note: OK peeps, you know what to do, read and review. (Hey, I made a rhyme. Cool!) I'm kinda enjoying this so let me know if you want more.   
  
Dedications: My mom (who was impressed with my story), my sister (who so kindly informed me I spelled "a coma" wrong, after I re-posted my story), and to Fall Angel, who's stories I enjoy reading). Thanks guys!  



	3. Part 3

1 You know the drill: I don't own Animorphs. They belong to K. A. Applegate. This ficlet is for entertainment purposes only. I just borrowed them to write this little story. I'll put them back when I'm done playing with them.  
  
  
  
2  
  
3 Beginning of the End Pt. 3  
  
"I'll go to The Sharing with you."  
  
I thought I would regret those words, but as it turns out, I actually had fun.  
  
When we got to The Sharing, Cassie's parents told us to "go mingle" with the other kids while they talked with some of their friends before the meeting started. "So much for 'family bonding'" I muttered.  
  
"It's not that bad, Rachel. Mom and Dad with sit with us during the meeting and then spend some time with us afterwards," Cassie informed me.  
  
We met up with Jake and some other kids from school and talked for a few minutes. Then the meeting started and we all took our seats.  
  
I don't exactly remember what they talked about, but I'm pretty sure it was the usual. You know, plans for future projects, how the fund-raiser was going, blah, blah.  
  
After the meeting broke up, there was a cookout behind the Rec Center. Hot dogs, hamburgers, corn-on-the-cob, chips, and the like. There was a softball game going on, others were playing volleyball, and a few people were standing around talking to each other. Hardly what you'd call sinister.  
  
Cassie and I joined in the volleyball game and our team won. We went home about an hour later.  
  
"What are you thinking about?" Cassie asked me on the way home.  
  
"Plotting to take over the world." I told her.  
  
"Well, once you have it, then what will you do?"  
  
"Go to Disneyworld." I answered her with a grin. We both broke out laughing.  
  
"Thanks for inviting me, Cassie. I had a lot of fun."  
  
"Any time Rachel. See you tomorrow at school."  
  
  
  
I was still smiling at how silly I had been over worrying about some weird dream I had while I was sick. I mean really, alien invasions? I have some imagination.  
  
I just turned around from my locker when I saw something that made my heart stop.  
  
"Who is that?!" I demanded of Cassie.  
  
"Who's who?" she asked in confusion.  
  
"Him." I pointed at the object of my question.  
  
"Oh. He's a transfer student. Just started today."  
  
"What's his name?" I was desperately hoping I was wrong.  
  
"His name is Tobias." 


End file.
